The use of a windshield curtain can be quite necessary in a motor vehicle. Various shielding devices are known and used in preventing sunlight from radiating into a motor vehicle, such as the commonly used heat insulator or a single axle rolling film. Varying the degree of shielding between different curtain portions is not provided by those common used devices. The heat insulator, for example, is not suitable for fixedly installing on the front window of the motor vehicle, because viewing would be obstructed by the deep color thereof.
The existence of many patents directed to windshield curtains in the world indicates that a plurality of designs in windshield curtains are available. For example: U.S. Pat. No. 1,755,734 discloses a spring means to control a curtain; U.S. Pat. No. 1,758,220 discloses a rope to draw up or let down a curtain; U.S. Pat. No. 1,762,480 discloses a drive means to drive a roller which lifts cables so as to control the position of a shield; U.S. Pat. No. 1,881,631 discloses an apparatus installed on the rear part of a motor vehicle; U.S. Pat. No. 1,931,438 discloses the use of gears and screws to move a shield into operation; U.S. Pat. No. 2,444,524 discloses a device slidably mounted on a frame; U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,749 discloses a frame having means for receiving and guiding visors that are movable between an inoperative, retracted position and an operative, extended position; U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,775 discloses the use of a winding shaft and a shade strip, which winding shaft is axially displaced when the strip is pulled past a window or wound back onto the shaft; German Patent No. 874,658 discloses a first frame that slides inside a second frame; German Patent No. 24,450,408, discloses a sliding structure; Japanese Patent No. 67621 discloses a reflecting panel that can be pulled out or pushed back into a housing container; and Japanese Patent No. 186425 discloses a bellows type sun visor that is reciprocated by means of the operation of a motor controlled by a photoreceptor sensor. Therefore, the aforesaid devices are different in structure and operation, but are commonly used in preventing sunlight or an illuminator from radiating into a motor vehicle.
The present invention has been accomplished for the same purpose. In Taiwan Patent No. 65139 a device called "A Windshield Curtain Structure Used in Motor Vehicle" is disclosed and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,201,563a structure called "Motor Vehicle Windshield Curtain Control" is disclosed. The inventor of the invention investigated continually and finally developed a windshield curtain which uses a new driving arrangement wherein the associated structure is quite different with the aforementioned applications, and the performance is better.
The main object of this invention is to provide a new windshield curtain used in a motor vehicle wherein a transversely revolving axle, the rolling speed of which is controlled, is extended outside the power casing installed inside the hollow roof beam of the motor vehicle, and springs that spiral in opposite directions are installed on both sides of the revolving axle. The elasticity of the springs extending inside the side racks of the front window is the power source to extend and take up the windshield curtain. With this arrangement, a stable and simple controlled curtain is provided. A link block with a link stick is installed inside the spring, and the link stick extends outside the sliding track where the spring is located on and into the aperture of the sliding groove. The rotation of the spring can drive the link block to move upwards and downwards when the power casing is driven to rotate the spring. Meanwhile, the link stick and the windshield curtain also move upwards and downwards. Owing to the characteristics that the spring is soft and can rotate stably when it is bent, the spring can be bent to a variant shape when it is extended downwards to the side rack from the power casing through the furling casing. With this arrangement, the objects of providing a simple installation and stably controlled system are achieved.